diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 419f1d6..2027192 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ $Id$
 Changes between 3.0 and 4.0:
 ----------------------------
 
+  * New in 3.99.8 prerelease:
+    + Maintenance release with minor bugfixes.
+
   * New in 3.99.7 prerelease:
     + Last known garbage collector bug was fixed.
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 775184e..5d59d13 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ AC_PREREQ(2.50)
 AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR(.auto)
 AC_CANONICAL_SYSTEM
 
-AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(elk, 3.99.7)
+AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(elk, 3.99.8)
 dnl AM_MAINTAINER_MODE
 AM_CONFIG_HEADER(config.h)